After ten years of marriage, Jonathan Richards had slept with nearly every colleague and friend I had.

I pretended not to see, choosing instead to focus on maternity checkups as usual with my eight-month-old belly. Until one time, I was on my way to a routine checkup when his latest fling drove me down.

I bled uncontrollably and begged him to take me to the hospital.

Jonathan looked at me with a face full of disgust.

"Zara Clare, when did you become so good at faking accidents?" His voice dripped with contempt. "If you think putting on an act will make me care about you, you are wrong. Even if you died in front of me, I wouldn’t spare you a glance."

After saying that, he took his new fling and drove away, leaving me there to bleed out alone.

By the time someone got me to the hospital, the baby in my womb had already suffocated and died.

My mom, unable to bear the shock, died from a fatal heart attack.

When I regained consciousness, my heart was already numb.

Sitting beside me was Jonathan’s grandfather, his face lined with sorrow.

"Let me go," I said flatly. "Whatever I owed the Richards Family, I have paid with my life."

——

My phone buzzed incessantly with incoming messages. I glanced down to find my screen flooded with photos—Jonathan and his mistress, Lily Patricia, tangled in each other’s arms.

While I had been fighting for my life, they had been celebrating in a five-star hotel, their bodies covered in love bites.

In one of the pictures, Lily rested against his chest, her smile full of provocation.

Unaware of the full extent of his grandson’s cruelty, this old man still wanted to make a last-ditch effort. He placed a stack of documents in front of me—ownership shares of the Richards Corporation.

"Zara, Richards is not a bad person at heart. You have loved him for so many years—can’t you give him another chance?" He pleaded. "As long as I'm here, no one will take your position as Mrs. Richards."

I didn’t respond. Instead, I played the video Lily had just sent me.

The sound of two people lingering immediately spread through the hospital room.

Su Shanshan gasped and asked:

‘Richards, do you really not feel bad about leaving Zara on the road like that?’ Lily’s voice was laced with amusement.

Jonathan, his lips pressed against her neck, let out a low chuckle. ‘Why would I? You are the only one I love. Even if she gave birth to my child, she’d never compare to you.’

The crude betrayal made the old man’s face turn ghostly pale. His body trembled, veins bulging in rage.

After a long, heavy sigh, he finally relented.

"The Richards Family has wronged you," he said. "I will handle the divorce. In seven days, you will be free."

His voice softened as he continued, "As for your mom and child’s burial arrangements…"

A nurse walked in, cradling a small, lifeless bundle.

Even fate seemed unwilling to let me continue suffering in this marriage.

My baby had never even taken a breath.

I turned my head away, struggling to steady my breath.

"Bury the child with the Richards Family. My mom's ashes… I will take them with me."

The old man nodded painfully. "I was wrong to keep you tied to this family. Go. Go find a life beyond all this. You deserve a wider world."

Saying that, he hunched over and left with the already dead child in his arms.

The moment the door shut, the tears I had been holding back finally fell.

Years of bitterness and regret came crashing down at once.

My marriage to Jonathan had been arranged by his grandfather. He needed someone to keep his unruly grandson in check. I needed someone to pay for my mom's medical expenses.

It had been a fair trade.

I quit my job and married him.

Over time, I learned about the tragic childhood he rarely spoke of—how he lost his parents at an early age, how he woke up in the middle of the night crying out for “mom” in his midnight dreams.

In those moments, our two broken souls seemed to resonate with one another.

I want to heal his heart.

I want to start a happy family with him.

So, I dedicated myself to being the perfect wife.

I trained tirelessly in the kitchen, hoping to recreate the taste of his mother’s cooking—the only warmth he had ever known.

I traveled from place to place, trying to recreate the little wooden cabin from his childhood memories. I even learned every bed trick to satisfy his needs, hoping it would make him stay.

I thought we would have a happy future together.

But on our wedding anniversary, he proudly walked into a hotel with my best friend in a dignified manner.

Like a madwoman, I ran after him, demanding an explanation.

He scoffed and threw the contract between his grandfather and me in my face.

"Zara, what do you think you are? Just because I entertained you for a few days, you think you are actually Mrs. Richards?"

"You are nothing but a dog my grandfather bought. What right do you have to question me about my affair? If you dare to upset me, I will stop paying for your mom's treatment right this second!"

I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. I couldn't say a single word.

From then on, Jonathan became even more reckless.

When he was done playing with internet celebrities, he moved on to my friends.

He kept testing my limits, again and again.

On one side, my mom needed medical treatment.

On the other, my marriage was rotten to the core. I almost collapsed.

The two forces pulled me in opposite directions, tearing me apart.

One day, lost in thought, I slipped and fell down the stairs.

That was when I found out I was pregnant.

His grandfather pleaded with me, almost desperate.

"Zara, please keep the child. Maybe this could save your marriage. If, after the baby is born, Richards still doesn't change, I promise I won't force you to stay."

With too many emotions weighing on my heart, I agreed.

I tried. I really did. I hadn't thought about trying so hard for so long.

But in the end, I lost everything—my mom, my baby, my marriage, my love.

I wiped away my tears and gazed out of the window at the gray sky.

Maybe the only relief was that both Jonathan and I were finally free.

While I was lost in thought, my phone rang.

It was him.

"Zara, did you go crying to Grandpa again? You ruined my night with Lily! I'm warning you—if you pull something like this again, I will cut off your credit card!"

In the past, I would have begged, apologized and done everything to get back into his good graces.

But now, I just said with an indifferent face.

"Do whatever you want."

He was caught off guard by my indifference. But soon, he sneered.

"I heard you gave birth. Having a child really gives you confidence, huh? But don't forget—I’m the son of the Richards Family. As long as you are still part of this family, I can make your life hell."

I closed my eyes.

I had seen what he was capable of.

The first time I caught him in bed with another woman, I naively went to his grandfather for justice.

But all I got in return was his twisted revenge.

He used my mom against me, forcing me to kneel on the freezing balcony, slapping myself over and over.

That night, I listened to him and his lover making love, their voices echoing through the house, while I shivered until I passed out.

By the time morning came, my face was swollen, my body frostbitten and I was sent to the hospital.

That was the night the last of my love for him died in the snow.

After that, no matter how cruel he was, I pretended not to see.

I endured every humiliation and every insult that Richards did.

I forced myself to stay in the role of Mrs. Richards.

But now, my mom was gone.

My child, too.

This marriage, already a corpse, needed to be buried once and for all.

I hung up the phone without another word.

Then I stood up and contacted my friend at the funeral home to make an appointment for the cremation.

When I returned to the hospital room, I saw Jonathan standing in the doorway.

He wrinkled his eyebrows as he looked at me, then sneered.

"Why don’t you continue acting and pretending to be pitiful anymore?"

He crossed his arms and scanned me with an icy gaze. "Running around so soon after giving birth? Looks like you are in great health. I suppose you won’t need any time to rest and recover."

He stepped closer, his voice dripping with malice. "I have decided to bring Lily to live in the villa. She is young, delicate and doesn’t know how to do housework. Go ahead and process your discharge papers—you can come home and be our maid."

As he leaned in, his lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Your pain expression is the best stimulant for me in bed."

He stared at me dead on, expecting to see my pained and saddened look.

But I didn’t. I met his gaze with an expression as blank as an empty canvas, drained of any emotion.

His amusement faded when he realized there was nothing left for him to destroy. Irritated, he turned to a nearby nurse. "Where is the baby? Boy or girl? Bring it to me."